Search

About Setaria italica

Setaria italica (foxtail millet) is a grain crop widely grown in Asia with particular significance in semi-arid regions of Northern China. It is also grown on a moderate scale in other parts of the world as a forage crop. Motivation for sequencing foxtail millet includes its close relationship, both genetically and physiologically, to the biofuel crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Direct study of switchgrass is complicated by its large genome size and polyploidy. Data from the foxtail millet genome assists in study and improvement of switchgrass and related biofuel crops. The nuclear genome (~490 Mbp) is diploid with 9 chromosomes (2n=18).